NOVEL NEXT Chapter 255 - Split Up
R256
“Captain, you…”
The group didn’t receive an immediate response, and with time running out, Xiao Li had no choice but to step forward as the spokesperson. He asked the leader, who was still facing away from them.
However, the leader did respond, though his reply made Xiao Li feel as though his blood had frozen in an instant.
Xiao Li couldn’t help but step back several paces, barely managing to steady himself.
“…Change course, two degrees southeast, move forward 0.3 kilometers,” Huo Qi said coldly.
At that moment, Xiao Li didn’t dare to say another word. If before he had only admired and looked up to Huo Qi, now he felt a sense of fear creeping in toward the young man standing before him.
It had been nearly ten years since Xiao Li and Huo Qi had known each other. They had studied and taken exams together as children, entered the same intermediate academy, and had crossed paths countless times.
Huo Qi had always been proud, wild, self-confident, and even cruel at times. He had shown his human side, and even a touch of warmth. Xiao Li had witnessed his awakening as a child, following him from the moment he began to become more self-assured and audacious, watching him grow day by day into the nearly invincible young man he was now.
It was because of all this that Xiao Li was so devoted to a boy who was even a few months younger than him.
But he had never seen this side of Huo Qi before.
In Xiao Li’s impression, the other person always carried a look of confidence and wild arrogance. Despite being an ordinary child raised in a sheltered environment, Huo Qi exuded a warrior’s fighting spirit, something that could only be forged in the heat of battle. It was a kind of aura that Huo Qi seemed to carry with him from the very core of his being.
Back when Xiao Li was just a child, he had immediately felt a sense of admiration for Huo Qi, even though Huo Qi didn’t seem very interested in making friends. Xiao Li had followed him relentlessly ever since.
Could Huo Qi really be afraid of others? He had never seen that spark of hesitation in his eyes before…
Earlier, Huo Qi had glanced at him, his gaze piercing through the air with unmatched coldness and resolve.
Xiao Li ultimately didn’t dare to ask again. Instead, he urged the others to head in the direction Huo Qi had pointed. Although none of them knew exactly where that direction led.
—
“They’re coming,” Huan Xian reminded again.
“You guys go ahead. As agreed earlier, we’ll catch up once we’re ready.”
“Alright, no need to worry about me. With Huan Xian here, what’s there to fear? You two, stick close to Clarens,” Jiang Hui said helplessly.
Xierman wanted to say something to Huan Xian, but was pulled forward by Zhou Xiuwen, who quickly walked ahead, leaving behind a hurried “Be careful.”
Clarens glanced at the two in front of him but didn’t say anything. After a long pause, he slowly turned and followed behind, trailing Zhou Xiuwen and Xierman, who were already quite a distance ahead.
“Clarens,” Jiang Hui called out, “Please keep an eye on those two troublemakers for me.”
Clarens’s steps faltered for a moment, but he quickly caught up, gently patting the machine gun strapped to his back. “I certainly don’t want those two to hold us back.”
The way he said that… They were all teammates, yet he didn’t directly say that he would protect them. But with Clarens’s somewhat proud personality, just saying this much was already pushing him.
Oh well.
Although it sounds harsh, it’s the truth. As long as Zhou Xiuwen and Xierman leave this place, the gap that Huo Qi could use to attack them will shrink, and then she and Huan Xian can focus on their next plan.
As for Xierman and Zhou Xiuwen, with Clarens accompanying them, their journey will likely go smoothly—certainly much easier than theirs.
Now there’s only one thing left to do: she and Huan Xian need to finish their objective quickly and catch up to join them.
After giving instructions to the three teammates who would go ahead, Jiang Hui exchanged a glance with Huan Xian, and they quickly moved toward a slightly higher patch of bushes, waiting quietly for their prey to arrive.
This time, they were planning for something big.
—
“Where the hell are we going? If we keep going this way, we’ll completely deviate from L11…” Mu Kun mumbled. The atmosphere in the team was strange, and she didn’t want to provoke the big boss, so she could only silently complain.
She really didn’t understand why Huo Qi was leading everyone here…
Although they had missed the chance to fight those cowardly people, that was already a fact and there was nothing to be done about it.
If you ask Mu Kun, she would say that they shouldn’t dwell on it any longer. They should focus on finding the right spot to recharge, as that should be the priority. After all, to chase those cowardly guys who could hide like moles, they had been traveling non-stop since they left L7. They hadn’t recharged much energy and hadn’t caught many prey either. When the leaderboard refreshed earlier, she saw that several of her scores were nearly being overtaken.
Mu Kun was just hoping that when the leaderboard updated again, she wouldn’t be dropped to the next rank. She was very pragmatic, after all. Her goal was to make it to the top five in the military sector, and she wasn’t particularly obsessed with fighting strong opponents. Although she followed Huo Qi’s plan, deep down she wasn’t entirely convinced by it.
But would Huo Qi care about what others thought? Clearly not.
Since forming the team, the members had seen Huo Qi’s capabilities and knew how dominant he was. Once he made up his mind, not even ten starfield rhinos could change it.
Xiao Li glanced at Mu Kun, knowing she was upset, but he didn’t intend to say anything to her. He simply continued his role as the vigilant scout.
Up ahead, Huo Qi suddenly let out a cold laugh. A strong gust of wind swept across their feet, and before they could react, they were knocked to the ground. Immediately after, they heard Huo Qi’s low voice instructing them to hide in a higher patch of bushes nearby.
The group awkwardly scrambled to hide in a relatively concealed area.
All of them were experts in close combat, so they quickly realized that there were ambushers in the shadows without needing much explanation from Huo Qi.
Mu Kun, who had been complaining just moments ago, now frowned and was about to use her psychic power to scan the surroundings. However, Huo Qi grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Don’t move!” Both Mu Kun and he had Grade A psychic abilities.
The young man, with a darkened gaze, carefully surveyed the surroundings, holding his breath. He didn’t release his psychic energy or draw his weapon; he just stayed still… seemingly sensing something faintly hidden.
Mu Kun and the others didn’t understand, but Huo Qi could feel a strange presence gradually drawing closer. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it couldn’t be ignored.
The presence silently circled around them, as if gathering information.
Huo Qi could sense that when it came into contact with the psychic fields of those around them, it seemed to gain a boost of strength, growing stronger. Then, like threads, it intertwined into a complex psychic formation, wrapping tighter and thicker, until it formed a knot, almost like a psychic mark, connecting to their magnetic field.
The boy’s eyes suddenly narrowed sharply.